Almost There

Another pound gone and only five pounds from my first goal.

.:Weekly Averages:.

Week ending 28 July 2007



Well, I survived the weekend. In-laws came to visit and help me celebrate my birthday. Birthday isn't until the 13th of August but they can't be here then so this weekend was it. I had one tiny piece of birthday cake and three glasses (3.5 ounces each) of wine. That's the first wine I've had in over two months and to be honest it wasn't worth the calories. It gave me a slight buzz but then I fell asleep on the couch during the movie. Afterward, I felt really tired and very cranky. Needless to say, I'll not be drinking wine again because I just don't like the way it makes me feel.

Meals were fish and chips on Friday for them - I had baked cod sans chips. Chili spaghetti and tossed salad on Saturday. Roast chicken and vegetables on Sunday. All my food was weighed and measured as usual so I'm proud of myself for not going over my limits.

Torture

Why do people torture themselves with fad diets? I was just reading a blog by a person who is on one of those diets where you buy their food!? She said she had to “choke” down one of their shakes. ..:::..YUK..:::.. I’m not sure if that was her breakfast or mid-morning snack or lunch. I feel sorry for people who feel it necessary to pay someone to tell them what to eat and when to eat and how much to eat. I’m far too independent to have someone tell me what to do (diet wise) much less PAY them. I don’t mean to put people down who follow fad diets but I feel they are doing bad things to their bodies. This particular individual is starving herself. Does she not understand that by going on a starvation diet her body is going to hang on to every ounce of fat it can? Is she prepared to buy “their” food the rest of her life? Sure, she'll lose weight and fast but the question is can she maintain?

Wouldn’t it be better to learn a new way of living? To learn about good nutrition and portion control? It’s not about will power. It’s about taking charge of your health and not letting some commercial diet bone head tell you what is good for you. They don’t really care, all they care about is getting your money.

The blogger is prepared to “choke” down a disgusting shake (that she paid dearly for no doubt) than have a healthy bowl of whole grain cereal and skimmed milk. The cereal would give her body the carbohydrates she needs to get through her morning. No wonder she feels tired all the time. Contrary to what most people on these fad diest are taught, complex carbohydrates are not our enemy. Complex carbs are the good guys. I’m not saying I know it all because I don’t. But I do know how to do research to find out what the human body needs to function in a healthy way. And it’s not about “everyone is different”. No, we’re not. We are human beings and we need the same basics to live well and be healthy. It's about changing your eating habits for the better, not the worse with some disgusting liquid diet.

Come on people! Do you really want to take charge of your health? Then stop paying for horrible, pre-packaged food and do a little cooking!

Orange Cottage Cheese Cool Whip Salad

Years ago, when I lived in America, I went to a Weight Watchers meeting with a friend. One of the guests that day was some guy demonstrating food preparation and he made this salad. It's easy, delicious and satisfying.

All you do is take cottage cheese, cool whip, sugar free orange jello (dry) and a navel orange....put it in a bowl and mix it up. This is sooooo good. However, I can't get Cool Whip here so I subbed plain low-fat yogurt. Yogurt is not nearly as good as Cool Whip but it will do.



I also used artifical sweetener and a couple drops of vanilla extract. The original recipe had pineapple also but I omitted that in mine and used two navel oranges instead - I'll add pineapple next time. Yes, I ate a good sized bowl of this stuff last night after dinner for 190 calories and 2 grams of fat. I found a recipe if anyone would like to make it.

In other news, the in-laws are coming for a visit this weekend and I'm planning meals. FIL is diabetic as well so it won't be too difficult to figure something out so that all of us can eat the same thing. Fortunately, hubs and his mum are very supportive of me and FIL and helps us control our diabetes.

Well, I'm off to do housework. ICK!

New Recipe

Tried a recipe from those Weight Watchers books and it was OK. I had to do some adjustments because the measurements for the pancakes (crepes) was way off! Had I mixed up what the recipe said I'd have cooked enough to feed an army. It was supposed to yield 4 servings. Anyway, hubs liked it and said he'd like me to cook it again. :)

In future, I'll make crepes instead of using tortillas because I can save loads of calories. One tortilla has about 258 calories whereas a homemade crepe has about 83 calories and way less fat. Every little bit helps. So what if my Mexican dish is not quite authentic. ;)

Anyway, I've now lost 16 per cent of my total body weight. That's amazing. I've stuck to this reducing plan far longer than any other in my entire life. That's what contracting diabetes does to you....it gives you an added incentive to lose weight.

It's been over two months since I've drank any alcohol but I really *really* wanted a glass of wine the other night. Thankfully hubs brought me to my senses by reminding me how much better I feel since giving it up. So, I resisted the temptation and I'm soooooooooooo glad I did.

.:Weekly Averages:.

The week ended quite well. Staying on target with food and lost another pound so I'm quite pleased.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I had a small cake doughnut today and it cost me 11 fat grams. So-not-worth-it. I think about what all I could have eaten using those 11 fat grams that is healthy. **Sigh**



This is my kitchen scale and it certainly helps me to keep on track. I weigh everything I eat -apart from that *&%# doughnut- and also ingredients with which I prepare food. I can't imagine losing weight without it.

Fab Food

Found these books at a yard sale about a week ago. Although I do not subscribe to the Weight Watchers point system, these books do have some fast and easy recipes in them. Some of the food is a bit higher in fat and calories than what my calorie counting self can allow but they are adaptable. For example ground turkey or quorn can be subbed - whole or in part - for the ground beef and the oil some of the recipes call for can be omitted completely. I've bookmarked several recipes that I'm anxious to try.

The word for today is watermelon. I've been eating a lot of watermelon lately and according to FitDay it is full of calories! Who'd a thought?

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

Oh man! This stuff was delicious and dead easy to make. One can blackberries, plain low-fat yogurt, splenda, vanilla extract. Drain and puree the blackberries, mix all ingredients well, place in ice cream maker for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean container and freeze. To an ice cream freak like myself (who can no longer eat ice cream) this is a very good sub.

Got my handbag today that I won on ebay. It's so cute and summery and will go perfectly with a pair of sandals I have.

Weight wise - I've finally lost that pesky pound. Now standing at 257 and only seven pounds from my first goal. Took me a whole week to lose that pound but I suspect it's because the doc upped my diabetic meds and my body had to make an adjustment.

The weather has not been great with all the rain and it has dampened -no pun intended- my spirits. It's too wet to do anything in the garden or much else for that matter. We usually have a BBQ every Sunday but with the rain we've not had but two this season. Seems like my cabin fever will never quite go away.

Ahh well, life is good despite the weather and my lousy health so I shouldn't complain. I have a good home and a loving husband, what else do I need?

.:Weekly Averages:.

Week ending 14 July 2007

Was another good week, food wise. Weight loss has come to a stand-still and I don't know why. I've been making healthy choices but the scale says no loss. I'm not worried though because I know as long as I eat right the pounds will drop.

Doctors Visit

I was right. He upped my diabetic meds but not by much. I just have to take an extra tablet each day so it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Down one more pound. The scale said 258 this morning and the doctor’s scale confirmed. He’s very proud that I’m taking control of my diabetes and he says I’m doing everything right.

Forty seven pounds lost forever! Only eight pounds to my first goal!

A Good Day

The past two days have been very good. Yesterday went shopping in town with hubs and we walked all over for a good two hours. I felt so good and full of energy. Hubs said he was starting to get tired before I even mentioned being tired! I’ve not been able to out-walk him since before I got fat. Anyway, today seems to be getting off to a good start as well. We’re going to the car boot today and that means more walking - I’m so looking forward to this.

Not much else is going on. Still keeping track of calories, carbs, etc., still making good choices, still losing weight. Nine pounds away from my first goal.

.:Weekly Averages:.

Week ending 7 July 2007

305/259/250

Test Results

Saw the diabetic nurse yesterday regarding last weeks blood test. Everything checked out except my HbA1c levels.

HbA1c (%) is the measurement of glycated haemoglobin (gHb or HbA1c or haemoglobin A1c) gives an idea of the overall levels of diabetes control over the past 2-3 months. It measures the amount of glucose (sugar) that has stuck to the red cells in your blood; the higher the sugar levels the more gets stuck to the cells. It is measured as a %. There is strong evidence for all types of diabetes that lowering the HbA1c to about 6-7% will reduce the risk of long term diabetic problems which can effect the eyes, kidneys, heart and nerve endings.

My HbA1c is currently 9.7% which is not so good and therefore the doctor wants to see me next week. I suspect he is going to up my diabetic meds. Even though I feel much *MUCH* better since I’ve starting eating right I still don’t feel 100%. Some days I feel extremely fatigued, so much so that I can hardly stand for any length of time. I have to keep reminding myself that it will take time to regain my health and that I can’t expect miracles to happen overnight. If I continue taking care of myself, eventually I will start to feel (and look) normal again.
The good news is when the nurse weighed me - late afternoon and fully clothed - I was 259 lbs. When I weighed myself - stark naked - yesterday morning my scales said 260. So, I guess I actually weigh less than I’ve been recording. But, for consistency, I’ll keep recording my weight according to my scales. She was very happy to see that I had lost 18 pounds since my visit to her on 18th of May. Blood pressure was down as well, so that’s good. She said I could skip going to the dietitian because after looking at my food/exercise/weight loss log she was satisfied I was doing everything right.

The best news of all is that I have a strong heart, kidneys and liver. No damage has been done because of my stupidity and gluttony for so many years. I am so thankful for this and I will never abuse my body ever again. It only takes a bit of effort and those who are overweight or obese should not wait until illness sets in to start a serious weight loss program.

New Gadget

Heh! Bought me a George Foreman Lean Mean *suck all the fat out of your food* Grilling Machine. I had one years ago and was not impressed but I didn’t use it correctly and it ended up drying out the food. Plus, back then I didn’t need to reduce anyway because I wasn’t overweight. This time around I know what I’m doing. I love grilled food. Hubs does a fantastic charcoal grill but with the weather lately we haven’t grilled out but about twice this year.

Sunday lunch today will be roast beef and steamed veggies. And I will not eat too much roast beef - like I did with the meatloaf this past week .

Have an appointment tomorrow with the nurse and we’ll go over my latest test results. I’m fairly confident everything will be fine. BSL could be a bit lower but there you go.

Lunch

I prefer a visual log.

Roast beef (49 grams), gravy -made from beef juice with fat drained (50ml) and mixed vegetables (256 grams). The beef was extra lean and the vegetables were fresh -not frozen - steamed with no fat added.

• Calories = 238
• Fat = 6 grams
• Carbs = 28 grams
• Fibre = 7 grams
• Protein = 22 grams

Total for today: 747 calories and 16 fat grams. That leaves me with about 500 calories and 10-15 fat grams for dinner and a mid-evening snack. This is getting easier all the time. I’m learning what normal portions are and since I keep my kitchen scale and a note pad on the counter, it takes only a few seconds to weigh and record the food.

Well, I’m off for a few minutes of exercises and then a shower.

TTFN